While the US downturn has had some negative impact on Avon, the direct beauty retailer's biggest problem has been the economic instability in Argentina. With that market unlikely to recover anytime soon, Avon will need to accelerate the time-to-market of its new business initiatives if it is to maintain earnings growth this year.

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Rising economic wealth and a preoccupation for personal appearance makes Latin America a burgeoning region for skincare offerings. Datamonitor's ConsumerGraphics database highlights how young adults represent a key target group for both now and the future. Focusing on increasing male usage also appears to be a key growth opportunity.

Published By Datamonitor

Published By Datamonitor

Unusual vegetable-based drinks are the highlight of this month's roundup of innovative product launches from the drinks industry, as canned tomato and zucchini drinks hit the shelves. In other news, drinking chocolate is a focus of innovation, with two novel formulations, while concerns about pack security and hygiene have extended to energy drinks with the launch of a new lidded can design.

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For decades consumers have been content to drink their tea and coffee in the traditional way; hot with milk, and with little variation from the traditional formulas. Now, however, manufacturers are keen to exploit the rise in demand for healthier alternatives, with Productscan Online reporting on a self-cooling ready-to-drink tea and a coffee made not with coffee beans, but with ramon nuts...

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Many consumers are looking to enhance the healthiness of their diets, but are unwilling to sacrifice sensory benefits in order to achieve this. Various manufacturers have focused on addressing this demand with new products, with recent launches including an acai variety of chocolate pudding and hamburger-flavored sunflower seeds. This focus is expected to continue to gain momentum in the future.

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Vitamin enrichment is on the agenda for a number of food industry players seeking to add an extra nutritional dimension to their product offerings. Among this month's rundown of novel new food launches are vitamin-enhanced popping candies and spice blends with microencapsulated vitamin and mineral combinations, potentially the start of a new trend in product nutrition.

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Productscan has recorded a variety of novel air freshening products this month, perhaps the most unusual of which is a toilet seat which features a built-in air freshener. Meanwhile, P&G has developed a new washing-up liquid which has an air freshener attached to its base. The introduction of these products demonstrates that there are new opportunities to fragrance nearly every room of the house.

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Growing consumer interest in air fresheners has prompted an influx of new products that not only fragrance a room, but provide additional benefits, as reported by Productscan Online. With the recent release of a plugin that projects a light show and a gel freshener whose container closes when it gets too hot, consumers have no excuse for less than fragrant smelling rooms.

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This month's roundup of novel personal care launches looks at a new energizing roll-on product that could increase consumer options for convenient, on-the-go energy. Meanwhile, skincare launch highlights include a face mask for use at different stages of the menstrual cycle, and soft drinks have inspired a new ginger ale hand soap.